Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
| director = | producer = | designer = | programmer = Yoshitaka Suzuki | composer = Yuka Kitamura | platforms = | released = March 22, 2019 | genre = Action-adventure | modes = Single-player }} Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an action-adventure video game developed by FromSoftware and published by Activision. The game was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 22, 2019. The game follows a Sengoku period shinobi known as Wolf as he attempts to take revenge on a samurai clan who attacked him and kidnapped his lord. The game received universal acclaim from critics, who commonly compared and contrasted it to the ''Souls'' series of games also made by FromSoftware. Within ten days of its release, the game had sold over two million copies worldwide. Gameplay ]] Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is an action-adventure game played from a third-person view. Compared to FromSoftware's own ''Souls'' series, the game features fewer role-playing elements, lacking character creation and the ability to level up a variety of stats, as well as having no multiplayer elements. It does, however, include gear upgrading, a skill tree, and limited ability customization. Rather than attacking to whittle an enemy's health points, combat in Sekiro revolves around using a katana to attack their posture and balance instead, which eventually leads to an opening that allows for a single killing blow. The game also features stealth elements, allowing players to immediately eliminate some enemies if they can get in range undetected. In addition, the player character has the ability to use various tools to assist with combat and exploration, such as a grappling hook. If the player character dies, they have the option of being revived on the spot if they have resurrection power, which is restored by defeating enemies, instead of respawning at earlier checkpoints. Plot In a re-imagined late 16th century Sengoku period Japan, warlord Isshin Ashina staged a bloody coup and seized control of the land of Ashina from the Interior Ministry. During this time, a nameless orphan is adopted by the wandering shinobi named Ukonzaemon Usui, known to many as Owl, who named the boy Wolf and trained him in the ways of the shinobi. Two decades later, the Ashina clan is on the brink of collapse due to a combination of the now elderly Isshin having fallen ill and the clan's enemies steadily closing in from all sides. Desperate to save his clan, Isshin's grandson Genichiro sought the Divine Heir Kuro so he can use the boy's "Dragon Heritage" to create an immortal army. Wolf, now a full fledged shinobi and Kuro's personal bodyguard, loses his left arm while failing to stop Genichiro. As he received the dragon’s blood from Kuro three years prior, Wolf survives his wounds and awakes in an abandoned temple. In the temple, he meets the Sculptor, a former shinobi named Sekijo who now carves Buddha statues, and Wolf finds that his missing arm has been replaced with the Shinobi Prosthetic, a sophisticated artificial arm that can wield a variety of gadgets and weaponry. With the Shinobi Prosthetic, Wolf assaults Ashina Castle and confronts Genichiro again, defeating him, although the latter is able to escape by drinking the Rejuvenating waters, which is a man-made replication of the dragon’s blood. Despite having an opportunity to flee Ashina forever, Kuro instead decides to stay and perform the "Immortal Severance" ritual, which would remove his Dragon Heritage and prevent anybody else from fighting over him to obtain immortality. Wolf reluctantly agrees to help Kuro and sets out to the areas surrounding the castle to collect all of the necessary components of the ritual, including a special sword that can cut immortals known as the Mortal Blade. When Wolf returns, he encounters Owl, who was previously thought to have been killed three years ago. Owl reveals that he also seeks the Dragon Heritage from Kuro, and orders Wolf to renounce his loyalty to Kuro. Wolf is then presented with the option to follow Owl and betray Kuro or to remain loyal to Kuro. If Wolf sides with Owl, he is forced to fight Emma, a doctor in service to Isshin, and Isshin himself. Upon defeating them, Wolf then stabs Owl in the back while Kuro in horror realizes Wolf has been corrupted by bloodlust and fallen down the path of Shura. It is then stated that a demon roamed the lands for many years slaughtering many people. If Kuro is chosen Wolf fights and kills Owl. He then uses the items he has gathered to enter Fountainhead Palace. Wolf then enters the Divine Realm, where he fights the Divine Dragon to obtain its tears for Immortal Severance. Upon returning to Ashina Castle Wolf discovers that it has been attacked by the Interior Ministry and is informed by Emma that Kuro has fled through a secret escape passage. Wolf finds an injured Kuro and Genichiro, wielding a second Mortal Blade. Genichiro then challenges Wolf a final time. Upon his defeat, he sacrifices himself to bring Isshin, who recently died from his illness, back to life at the height of his power. Although Isshin is on Wolf and Kuro's side, he honors Genichiro's sacrifice and chooses to fight Wolf. After defeating Isshin, the player can obtain three endings depending on what is given to Kuro. The standard ending is "Immortal Severance". Wolf gives Kuro the dragon tears and severs his ties to the Divine Dragon. This process ends up killing Kuro, while Wolf becomes the next sculptor and ends his life as a shinobi. In the "Purification" ending Wolf manages to save Kuro at the cost of his own life. The final ending, "Return," is obtained by helping the Divine Child of the Rejuvenating Waters complete a ritual to return the power of the Divine Dragon to its birthplace in the West. Kuro's body dies but his spirit is transferred into the Divine Child's heart. Wolf remains a shinobi and chooses to travel with the Divine Child on their westward journey. Development Development of Sekiro began in late 2015, following the completion of Bloodborne downloadable content, The Old Hunters. The game was revealed via a teaser trailer at The Game Awards 2017 in December, showing the tagline "Shadows Die Twice". The game's full title was revealed to be Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice during the Microsoft press conference at E3 2018. It was directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki of the Japanese development studio FromSoftware, best known for creating the ''Souls'' series and Bloodborne. The game was published by Activision worldwide, with FromSoftware self-publishing it in Japan, and Cube Game publishing in the Asia-Pacific region. Sekiro soundtrack was composed by Yuka Kitamura, with some contributions from Noriyuki Asakura. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on 22 March 2019. A collectors edition of the game was also released the same day, and included a steelbook case, a figurine of the protagonist, an art book, a physical map of the game's world, a download code for the soundtrack, and in-game coin replicas. Sekiro draws inspiration from the Tenchu series of stealth-action games that were partially developed and published by FromSoftware. The team initially considered developing the game as a sequel to Tenchu, but as that series had already been shaped by several different studios before they obtained the rights to it, they instead opted to take the project in a different direction. Miyazaki intended for the combat changes to capture the feel of "swords clashing", with fighters trying to create an opening to deliver the fatal strike. He and the team also created the game to be a fully single-player experience, as they believed multiplayer to have limitations they wanted to avoid. The word "Sekiro" means "one-armed wolf" in Japanese, while the subtitle "Shadows Die Twice" was originally only meant to be used as a slogan for the teaser trailer until Activision requested it to be kept for the final name. Despite the game taking place during the Sengoku period of real world Japanese history, there are no real historical people or locations featured in the game. Reception (PS4) 90/100 (XONE) 91/100 | Destruct = 9/10 | EGM = 8.5/10 | EuroG = 9/10 | Fam = 37/40 | GI = 9/10 | GSpot = 9/10 | GRadar = | IGN = 9.5/10 | OPMUK = 9/10 | PCGUK = 92/100 | PCGUS = 92/100 | USG = 4/5 | VG = 10/10 }} Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice received "universal acclaim" according to review aggregator Metacritic. Sales On release day, Sekiro drew over 108,000 concurrent players on Steam, the highest for a new game launched during January – March 2019, and the third highest of any Japanese game in the platform's history, behind only Monster Hunter: World and Dark Souls III. It reached 125,000 concurrent players on Steam, where it was the fourth most-played game. In its debut week, Sekiro topped both the UK and EMEAA (Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia) charts, surpassing Tom Clancy's The Division 2. In Japan, the game debuted at first with 157,548 retail copies sold in its opening weekend. Within ten days of its release, over two million copies were sold worldwide. References External links * Category:2019 video games Category:Action-adventure games Category:Activision games Category:Buddhism in fiction Category:FromSoftware games Category:Ninja video games Category:Patricide in fiction Category:PlayStation 4 games Category:Sengoku video games Category:Single-player video games Category:Video games about revenge Category:Video games based on Japanese mythology Category:Video games developed in Japan Category:Video games set in feudal Japan Category:Video games set in the 16th century Category:Windows games Category:Xbox One games